Netflix, once the undisputed king of streaming, seems to be failing at getting audiences to show up and watch its many programs, forcing the Goliath to pay back some of the money it was given by advertisers.

According to Digiday, Netflix fell well below the expected target audience numbers, causing the company to give up some of its advertising dollars:

Netflix is falling short of ad-supported viewership guarantees made to advertisers and allowing advertisers to take their money back for ads that have yet to run, according to five agency executives. The specific shortfall amounts vary by advertiser, but in some cases, Netflix has only delivered roughly 80% of the expected audience, said the executives. A Netflix spokesperson declined to comment.

“They can’t deliver. They don’t have enough inventory to deliver. So they’re literally giving the money back,” said one of the agency executives.

Netflix experienced a pretty rough year in 2022, losing more than one million subscribers. This is actually not as bad as Netflix thought it would be, as they anticipated losing somewhere around two million.

While many factors may contribute to Netflix’s loss in subscribers and interest, including people returning to the office and a multitude of streaming platforms vying for attention, its supposed hits aren’t really bringing in the eyeballs.

For instance, the documentary “Harry & Meghan” starring the runaway royals garnered some initial attention but then swiftly found itself sinking in the ratings within the streaming company. The show itself isn’t being received well by audiences are critics according to Forbes:

While briefly dethroning megahit Wednesday for the number one spot on Netflix, the show quickly slipped back under it. And the three hour premiere has been a bit…roasted by critics and fans alike, and what seemed like it could be a positive PR moment for Harry and Meghan seems to have perhaps backfired as the series seems to much like…an attempt at a positive PR moment.

Critics have scored the show at a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, below most other series currently making up Netflix’s top 10 list. It’s described as “bland,” “unquestioned self-promotion” and features things “that definitely do not add up” according to some of the critics.

As of this writing, “Harry & Meghan” sport a 14 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

This was supposed to be one of the most important shows they had and few people seem to want to watch it beyond initial curiosity.

If Netflix continues to push drek like this, they can expect their numbers to continue to dwindle or stagnate. All-in-all, Netflix isn’t doing well but it could be doing worse. Some may say that it will as many people who signed up to watch shows like “The Witcher” lose interest, especially as series lead Henry Cavill abandons the role of Geralt of Rivia.